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Machine Shop Precision for Woodshop Equipment

Think about this: a woodworking jig that was designed by a professional woodworker… AND a machinist. That's how Micro Fence® began more than twenty years ago, with woodworker Richard Wedler and his father Jack, a toolmaker. The result is a marriage between the craft of woodworking and the precision of metalworking.

Micro Fence is now a complete milling system that works with more than sixty models of routers, laminate trimmers, circular saws and high-speed rotary tools. It begins with two core jigs that bring accuracy and simplicity to every job – a basic edge guide for straight work, and a circle jig attachment for working in the round. Over the years, Rich has added a host of other accessories including a plunge base for trimming tools, an ellipse jig, and the incredibly useful Micro Stop. The latter was originally designed to bring highly accurate repeatability to table saw crosscutting, but it also works on the miter saw, band saw, shaper fence, router table fences, sanding machines, doweling and mortising machines… in fact, pretty much anywhere you need to add micro-adjustment.

That machine shop precision is the key to the system. A micrometer (hence the name) is built into the jigs, so extremely fine adjustments are literally at your fingertips – and accurate to 1/1000". Unlike shop-built jigs made of wood, the accuracy of these beautifully machined components doesn't decline over the years. Each setting is firmly locked in, so there's no difference between the first part made and the last. Think of that the next time you build a dozen drawers! Plus, the numbered dial means that settings are almost instantly repeatable: just re-dial the number.

The Micro Fence Plunge Base is actually a three-axis mill, adapting another metalworking concept to the woodshop. Popular Woodworking described it thus: "Swiss-watch precision and smooth operation are combined in a package that is easier to compare to a fine German sports car than to other woodworking tools."